


Perfect Aim

by HazelBeka



Series: 101 Uses for a Barrier Seal [12]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Flirting, Gen, M/M, Protective Naruto, seals master Iruka, with KNIVES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27991701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelBeka/pseuds/HazelBeka
Summary: “Why is that scary ANBU guy watching us?” Naruto asked, eyes still wide.“Because he has a crush on me,” Iruka said.Kakashi almost lost his balance on the windowsill as he spluttered. “I donot.”Naruto gave him a slow, suspicious look and then turned back to Iruka. “That’s stranger danger, Iruka-sensei. You should be careful.”
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
Series: 101 Uses for a Barrier Seal [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/373676
Comments: 65
Kudos: 726





	Perfect Aim

Kakashi had technically finished his patrol – and his shift – ten minutes ago, but he took a detour on his way back to the Hokage Tower which just happened to take him past the Academy. Classes had already ended for the day but he was hoping that Iruka might still be there, packing up or supervising a detention. He might need a hand tidying the classroom, or someone to walk him home.

When he peered through Iruka’s classroom window, he was overjoyed to find that Iruka _was_ still there. He wasn’t alone, however. Naruto was standing at the front of the classroom with him, frowning in concentration as Iruka explained something to him. Neither of them noticed Kakashi as he perched on the windowsill and quietly slid up the window, the better to make his entrance at the appropriate time.

He’d assumed Naruto was leaving a detention – he was the only student left and it wouldn’t be the first time Kakashi had spied him writing lines after school – but then Iruka held up a barrier seal and Kakashi realised he was using his teaching voice.

“It’s like when you’re aiming a shuriken,” Iruka was saying. “You look at the target while you throw, and the muscles in your arm know how to aim at the point you’re looking at. Or when you cast a jutsu at an opponent – you focus and your chakra manifests in the right place to attack your enemy.”

“But my aim isn’t very good,” Naruto said. He was using a very different tone of voice than Kakashi usually heard him use in class. Quieter, with none of that brash confidence he exuded in the midst of failure.

“That’s why you have to practise,” Iruka said. “But you can always summon a barrier around yourself. That’s the default – it’ll happen if you’re not focusing on sending the barrier anywhere else. And most of the time that’s all you need to protect yourself, but if you ever need to run and get help, you can capture someone else in the barrier instead and leave them trapped. Want me to show you again?”

Naruto nodded.

“First, around myself.” Kakashi felt the faint pulse of chakra as Iruka activated the seal, creating a barrier around his own body. “And now…let’s trap Sasuke.” Iruka turned his head to look at one of the desks and the barrier flickered out of existence only to reappear around the empty seat. “Hm, who next?”

“Ino,” Naruto said, and Iruka obediently captured another empty chair. Each time there was a little flash of chakra flowing from his fingers into the paper seal.

“One more demonstration and then you can try,” Iruka said. “When you get really good, you don’t even need to look at the spot you’re aiming at. Watch.” 

There was one last pulse of chakra and then the barrier appeared around Kakashi, who gave a small eep of surprise and then covered it with a manly cough. Iruka’s back had been facing him this whole time, but now he turned around and raised at an eyebrow at Kakashi, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

Naruto, meanwhile, had clearly had no idea they were being watched. When he noticed an ANBU sitting on the windowsill he gave a little shriek of shock and jumped back.

“Hello, Hound-san,” Iruka said. “Aren’t you supposed to be off duty by now?”

“Aren’t you?” Kakashi countered. It was the most intelligent thing he could come up with while Iruka still had that smug little smile on his lips.

Iruka let the barrier hold for another moment of eye contact before he dropped it. Kakashi didn’t swoon onto the classroom floor but it was a close call.

“Why is that scary ANBU guy watching us?” Naruto asked, eyes still wide.

“Because he has a crush on me,” Iruka said.

Kakashi almost lost his balance on the windowsill as he spluttered. “I do _not_.”

Naruto gave him a slow, suspicious look and then turned back to Iruka. “That’s stranger danger, Iruka-sensei. You should be careful.”

“Don’t worry,” Iruka said, holding up the seal. “He can’t touch me unless I want him to.”

“Do you want me to?” Kakashi blurted out.

Iruka gave him a slow, considering look. Kakashi decided it was a tantalising maybe. 

“Since you’re here,” Iruka said, “could you be my teaching assistant for a few minutes?”

He didn’t have to ask twice. Kakashi hopped into the classroom and ambled around the desk with what he hoped was a cool saunter.

“How can I help?”

“I’m giving Naruto some extra tutoring in barrier seals,” Iruka said. “To help him with his chakra control. You’re going to be the target he aims his barriers at and I’m going to test the strength of them by trying to stab you.” He pulled a kunai out of a holster at his belt and twirled it between his fingers.

Was this flirting? Kakashi hoped this was flirting.

Naruto looked very nervous as Iruka handed him the seal. “What if I miss?” he asked.

“Then Iruka-sensei will have an easier time stabbing me,” Kakashi said.

“Exactly.” Iruka took Kakashi by the arm and moved him into the centre of the space between the desks and the chalkboard. His fingers were warm against Kakashi’s skin, and they lingered over the ANBU tattoo before letting go. “You stand here. Naruto, whenever you’re ready.”

Iruka took a couple of steps back and turned to Naruto expectantly.

Naruto’s first attempt missed by an embarrassing amount, but Iruka reacted with surprising enthusiasm.

“That’s great, Naruto!”

Naruto blinked at him. “But I didn’t get Stranger Danger-san.”

Iruka completely ignored this hurtful nickname and Kakashi’s pout – although admittedly the pout was hidden behind two layers of mask so perhaps he couldn’t be entirely blamed.

“But you still cast the barrier across the room,” Iruka said. “Not around yourself. That’s really good for a first try!”

“Really?”

Iruka nodded. “Now let’s try again.”

It took Naruto another three attempts, but eventually he managed a skew-whiff barrier that was off-centre enough to brush Kakashi’s arm yet still surrounded him. Naruto’s whole face lit up. The resemblance to Minato was uncanny all the time, but Kakashi could see Kushina in him when he smiled.

“Now I get to try and stab Hound-san,” Iruka said brightly, which was all the warning Kakashi got before the knife popped Naruto’s barrier like a soap bubble and came straight at his chest.

Kakashi parried the knife with his arm guard through sheer instinct. Iruka hadn’t pulled the blow at all, and there was a scraping clash of metal on metal.

“You really tried to stab me!” Kakashi protested.

“Surely I’m not too much for you to handle,” Iruka said. The strike had brought him into Kakashi’s personal space, and his smile was even more deadly from this close.

“Not at all,” Kakashi said.

“Good, then let’s try again.” Iruka backed off and turned back to Naruto. “When you’re splitting your focus like this, the barriers can come out weak. Make sure you’re putting enough chakra into the seal.”

Naruto nodded and tried again. The barrier had barely formed before Iruka attacked it and Kakashi had to block his blow again.

They tried this three more times, and the third time Iruka’s knife broke through the barrier, Kakashi grabbed him by the wrist, spun him around and pulled him back firm against Kakashi’s chest, an arm around his waist to pin him there. Iruka’s knife ended up a couple of inches from his own throat, and Kakashi felt him draw in a sharp little gasp.

“Am I too much for _you_ to handle?” Kakashi murmured.

He felt Iruka’s free hand at his hip, right by the knife holster at his own belt.

“Hardly,” Iruka said. His voice was a little breathless.

And then suddenly there was a barrier between Iruka’s throat and the knife.

“Let him go!” Naruto demanded.

The barrier had materialised only around the knife and Iruka’s hand. Kakashi let go at once – he hadn’t meant to scare Naruto – but Iruka didn’t move. He was staring at the barrier in wonder.

“How did you do that?” he asked. “That was perfect aim. And I hadn’t even taught you how to change the size yet.”

Naruto blushed and the barrier sputtered out of existence. Iruka lowered the knife from his throat.

“That was amazing,” Iruka breathed. “Wasn’t that –?” He half turned towards Kakashi, then seemed to remember they were still pressed flush against each other and took a quick step away, pink dusting his cheeks.

“It was very impressive,” Kakashi said honestly, and Iruka beamed at him gratefully.

“I don’t know how I did it,” Naruto said. He was practically squirming with embarrassed happiness. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Oh, Hound-san would never hurt me,” Iruka assured him. “He was just playing around.”

Naruto didn’t look convinced. He recovered from his triumph enough to give Kakashi the stink eye. “You’re not supposed to play with weapons. That’s dangerous.”

Kakashi held up his hands. “You’re right. I guess I need Iruka-sensei to give me another safety lesson.”

“Probably several,” Iruka said. “Just to make sure the message sinks in.” He turned back to Naruto. “Let’s end today on a high note. You head home and tomorrow we’ll see if you can do that again.”

Naruto nodded brightly, shot one last dark look at Kakashi, and then hurried out of the classroom, his shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor.

Only once silence had fallen again did Iruka’s gaze meet Kakashi’s.

“Thanks for playing along and helping me out,” he said. “I appreciate it.”

“I never mind helping you out,” Kakashi said. He didn’t quite have the courage to add that the moments he spent with Iruka were the highlights of his week, but he thought it very hard.

Maybe Iruka’s teacherly powers extended to mind reading, because he picked up his satchel and dumped it into Kakashi’s arms. “Since you’re going to follow me home anyway,” he said, “you might as well make yourself useful and carry my bag.”

Kakashi flung the strap over his shoulder with unseemly eagerness.

“Are you asking me to walk you home?”

Iruka was already heading towards the door. “Yes,” he said. “Unless there’s somewhere else you need to be?”

Kakashi’s shift had ended almost an hour ago, but even if it hadn’t, he would have taken a scolding from the hokage himself if it meant he could walk by Iruka’s side all the way to his front door.

“Let’s go,” he said, and Iruka rewarded him with his softest smile yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Iruka says he's giving Naruto barrier lessons to improve his chakra control but really he's trying to teach him how to protect himself so he'll stay safe.
> 
> Usually my barrier seal oneshots are unconnected from each other but this one takes place in the same verse as the last one.
> 
> Also I just want to point out that I didn't capitalise 'knives' in the 'with knives' tag...AO3 did that and I couldn't get it to stop. I guess it's really enthusiastic about knife-based flirting


End file.
